The Heiress's Shadow novel Chapter 28

Chapter 21 

“Sisters?” Mum cuts me off, her mood immediately dropping. “Yes. She told me everything.” 

“Well…mum, there’s a chance that Nevaeh may have cancer too.” I whisper, using her real name for the first time. 

Mum frowns. “Noah…” 

“Think about it. Both her sisters had it. I’m guessing one of their family members had it and it was passed on to them. If both Heaven and Lucy had cancer, there’s a chance Nevaeh does too.” I stab my cereal with the spoon. “Do you know if she’s ever gone to the hospital to get checked out or scanned or something?” 

“Not that I know of.” Mum tells me, letting everything I just said sink in. “Noah, you really care about her.” 

As much as I want to deny that sentence, I can’t. 

I just nod, silently, pushing my cereal away from me as I lose my appetite. 

“Sweetheart,” mum starts. “You like her don’t you?” 

“Of course I like her. She’s my friend-” 

“That’s not what I meant, Noah.” 

“Wha–” I cut myself off as realisation hits me, my eyes widening slightly. “I–I don’t like her like that!” 

Mum smiles slightly. “Honey, I know you better than to believe a word that just came out of your mouth.” 

“I don’t like her.” I say more firmly this time. 

Mum shakes her head in amusement before looking back at me. “Do you know what she looks like?” 

I shake 

my head. “Her hood was going up but I just pulled it down. I know there’s a reason she’s wears it and I didn’t want to invade her privacy.” 

Mum smiles proudly as she gets up and makes her way around the counter. 

“You’re a good boy, Noah.” She kisses the top of my head before turning around and walking out of the kitchen. “I just wish more people these days would be like you and focus on personality rather than looks.” 

I take another spoonful of cereal and put it in my mouth before I realise what my mum just said. 

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” I call out after her, my voice muffled due to the cereal. 

Mum shakes her head, a chuckle leaving her lips as she walks up the staitrs. “Goodnight, Noah.” 

I swallow my cereal. “Goodnight, mum.” 

I finish the bowl of Fruity Pebbles while thinking about what my mum said. 

Do I like her? 

Nah. 

-Noah- 

I hear whimpers as I walk up the stairs. 

At first I think it’s Danny but then I realise they’re coming from my room. 

I walk in and see Carter thrashing around as whimpers come out of her mouth. 

I flick my bedside lamp on and find that her cheeks are wet with tears. 

Is she having a nightmare? 

22.0% 

Chapter 21 

All of a sudden she shoots into a sitting position, a scream leaving her mouth followed by sobs. 

“Carter! Carter, shh, calm down. It’s me.” I pull her into my arms, pushing her face into my chest as she grips my torso tightly. 

-Nevaeh- 

“Carter! Carter, shh, calm down. It’s me.” Noah pulls me into his arms, pushing my face into his chest, making me wrap my arms around his torso as sobs leave my mouth. 

“Nevaeh! What’s wrong?!” Tanya and Danny rush into the room. 

I just bury my face deeper in Noah’s chest as I keep crying uncontrollably. 

“Mum, Danny, it’s alright.” Noah whispers. “I’ve got her.” 

“Are you sure?” Tanya questions. 

“Yeah.” Noah nods. “Go back to sleep.” 

A few minutes later, I can hear footsteps leaving the room and the soft click of the door as it closes. 

Noah doesn’t say anything, nor does he move. He just wraps his arms tighter around me. One hand on my lower back and the other hand on the back of my head. 

We sit there for what seems like hours, but in reality was probably only twenty minutes until my sobs turn to sniffles. 

Noah pulls away, his usually cold eyes soften as looks at me. 

He slips his hands under my hood and uses his thumbs to wipe away the tears from my cheeks. 

“Talk to me.” 

“What?” I look up at him. 

“Remember what I told you when we first met?” He asks. “I’m always here if you need someone to listen.” 

I stay silent. 

“Sometimes…” I swallow. “Sometimes I feel like I should have been the one to die.” 

Noah doesn’t say anything, but his face hardens. 

I keep going. “Heaven and Lucy shouldn’t have been the ones to get cancer. They didn’t deserve it. They didn’t deserve to die. If they didn’t die, my parents would still be together and my mum wouldn’t be going out to get drunk and high every night. If I was the one that died, nobody would have cared. I was always the one that got left out. The one that no one bothered to ask if she was okay. Everyone always payed attention to Lucy because she was the baby of the family. Everyone always paid attention to Heaven because she was the oldest, even though I was only younger by five minutes, she was still older. She was always the smart one. The one that our parents liked to brag about. And me? I can throw a ball through a hoop and do some dance moves. Big deal. No one noticed the small things about me like they did about Heaven and Lucy. No one cared. It was always ‘Heaven this‘ and ‘Lucy that‘, It wouldn’t have made a difference if I died. I probably deserve to die. No one cares about me.”